Life, as they say, takes you places. One of them is Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Even though I went to school in nearby Madison, Wisconsin, I never made it down to Hawkeye country before. So rich in Americana, like a John Cougar song come to life before your eyes, and the people are wonderful. The corn fields stretch to the horizon, like an earthy brown-orange-yellow sea of waving stalks. I’d really love to see it before the harvest, it must be spectacular. And there’s something to be said for those pork tenderloin sandwiches. Yum!